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U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell is asking the acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs about what's being done to reduce patient wait times at VA facilities in Kentucky.

Veterans and their advocates have been outraged by delays in VA care reported across the nation. The controversy first erupted over allegations that 40 patients at the Phoenix VA Health Care System in Arizona may have died waiting for care -- spurring similar accusations in several states and face-to-face audits at every facility.

"I have followed this scandal closely, particularly its impact on the high population of veterans in Kentucky, and am deeply troubled by the most recent VA wait time data which notes that some 3,386 veterans in the Louisville area and 2,241 in the Lexington area have waited over 30 days to receive VA care," McConnell, Senate Republican leader, wrote in a letter this week to Acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson. "The same data notes that 968 veterans in the Louisville area and 200 veterans in the Lexington area have waited over three months for VA appointments."

McConnell asked Gibson to "provide me with specific actions taken by the VA at facilities in Kentucky to reduce these wait times and improve services..."

Earlier this month, the VA released its audit report, which said two Louisville-area veterans clinics were being flagged for further investigation into possible irregularities in scheduling of doctors' appointments and documenting wait times for care. The two local clinics are the VA Healthcare Center Dupont and the VA Healthcare Center Fort Knox, which are both associated with Robley Rex VA Medical Center and provide primary care.

They are among 112 sites nationally that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs said "require further review," after an initial system-wide audit surrounding wait times and allegations of inappropriate scheduling.

The audit called it "a preliminary step" and said "further actions will be taken after the determination of the extent of issues related to scheduling."